The Orphan and the Cat
by SpawnOfRazgriz
Summary: A new student at Beacon Academy named Oliver befriends Blake, and eventually falls for her. When she is kidnapped and imprisoned, he feels it's his fault, and his responsibility to rescue her, and he goes on a daring mission to save her, but not without help.
1. OC Details

OC details

Name: Oliver

Age: 17

Appearance: 6' 3", black hair, light green eyes, light armor pants, body fitting red jacket with black trim

Weapons: Shortsword, throwing knives

Powers: aural energy manipulation triggered by emotional instability

Personality: Reserved unless approached, except around those he trusts


	2. The story

My name's Oliver. I'm an orphan. I never knew my parents. They just dropped me off at an orphanage one day with a note that said "Take better care of him than we can." During my teenage years, I found out that my mother and father were a hunter/huntress team and went missing, and that's why I want to be a hunter. That's where our story begins.

As I was sitting in the Beacon Academy library studying, I heard some noise coming from across the room and saw something horrible. Blake Belladonna, one of many Faunus at Beacon, being tormented for being a Faunus like many others, by a human. I had seen her around, but usually she was with her teammates, or by herself reading, not yelling at someone this way.

"This is why the White Fang exists! Bigoted jerks like you pushing Faunus around all the time!" she yelled, with streams of tears rolling down her face. I'll be honest, I don't think I would have done anything if she hadn't been crying.

"Hey!" I yelled "This is a library, and some of us are trying to study, like she was. She's not bothering anyone. Just leave her alone."

"Why don't you just mind your own business? Or are you one of those people who actually think Faunus are equal to humans," he said, with loud gasps coming from others in the room as he continued to mess with her.

I walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I believe I said to leave her alone," I said. He raised and swung his fist at me, which I narrowly avoided and pushed him into a table, knocking him out. I helped Blake up and helped her collect her things, wiped her tears, and offered to walk her back to her dorm.

"Thank you," she said. As we walked, she was quiet until we got back. She opened the door, went inside and began insisting that I come in and talk for a few minutes.

"What's your name?"

"Oliver."

"'Oliver,' she repeated. "Nice to meet you. So, do you believe that the Faunus are equal to humans?" she asked, as we pulled out two chairs and both sat in one.

"Well…. Yes," I said hesitantly. "The only thing different about them are physical qualities, and those aren't everything."

"That…. That's the first time i've ever heard a human say that," she said, her voice nearly breaking, and her cheeks turning slightly pink. "So, you new here? Never seen you before."

"Yeah. Just started. Wanted to try to catch up. Didn't think I would get in, honestly. Haven't made any friends yet."

"That could change. How about this. So we can avoid another incident like today's, do you want to get together and study after classes?" she asked politely.

"Um, sure. I could use the he-" my words were interrupted by the door swinging open. Ruby, Weiss, and Yang entering the room. Yang had an enraged look on her face. Last time I saw that, she nearly burned a huge part of the Emerald Forest down. "I…. I should go. Wanna meet tomorrow to study?"

"Sure," Blake said as I walked towards the door and left, hearing Yang and Blake argue about the events that happened in the library.

Time passed, and Blake and I studied together every day. I got caught up to everyone else, and made a close friend in the process. In that time, we got to know each other extremely well. From her White Fang past, to my wanting to become a hunter to avenge the possible death of my family, we told each other everything. Well, almost everything. One day I noticed she was acting rather strangely.

"Hey. You alright?"

"Yeah. Just kind of annoyed."

"What's going on?"

"There's…. rumors going around. That you and me are together. Putting us both down because I'm a Faunus, and you're a human."

"You know they aren't true. Ignore them. Why should they bug you if you know they're false?"

"Yeah, I guess I see your point. But think about it. We're getting to the point where we _could _end up that way."

"You've been reading romance novels again haven't you?" I asked, laughing. Sadly my humor was returned by a stern and unamused glare. "Okay, I get it. Not the time for jokes. Maybe you just need to blow off some steam."

"Yeah. Wish this whole thing between Faunus and humans hating each other was over with, so that maybe I could find someone who will accept me."

"What do you mean 'maybe'? No maybe about it. You'll find somebody one day. Somewhere out there."

"Now it sounds like you're the one who has been reading romance novels," she said with a slight chuckle.

"This may sound out of the blue, but do you want to train with me sometime?"

"Train? Where?

"Emerald Forest, maybe?"

"Maybe when neither of us are busy."

"Who knows when that will be?" I said.

"Well, I need to get back to class. See you later."

"Bye." I told her.

After this, the next month took on a strange series of events. We barely spoke for some periods of time, sometimes not even speaking at all. I was hoping I hadn't said something to drive her away. I have a bad habit of doing that. It looked like there was no end of this in sight, until I walked up to her one day, when she was alone, sitting on the ground with her arms crossed, and her head in her arms. I walked over and sat next to her.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"You seem bothered. You alright?"

"Yeah. Weiss and I got into it. Again. Caused Ruby to yell at us, storm out, and Yang went after her."

"I'm sorry."

"It'll be alright. I'm just tired of living like this. Hate seeing Ruby like that too. She shouldn't be dragged into our arguments, considering everything she's been through at such a young age."

"Yeah, well, we all go through tough things. Maybe somehow it will pass. If you ever need anyone to talk to or just cool off, you can come to my dorm sometime. You don't even need to ask. Door is always open."

"Maybe I will. Instead of studying like we normally do, we can just hang out, or talk like we are right now."

"Yeah we can. Sounds like… fun," I said, causing Blake to laugh slightly for some reason.

"You know, this really helped. Thank you." She said, turning and hugging me.

"Anytime, Blake," I said, hugging her back, hoping this may have been the start of something amazing. A few days later, I walked past Blake in the school courtyard, and she grabbed my sleeve, dragging me to where the remaining members of Team RWBY were.

"I don't believe that you all have met. This is my friend Oliver."

"Hello," I said.

"Hi" All 3 of them said at once.

"So this is the guy you're always talking to?" Yang said, making Blake blush. "Glad to finally put a face to the name. She talks about you all the time."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think she really li-" Ruby tried to say, but was stopped by a jab in the side with an elbow from Blake. She seemed to be getting annoyed, so I tried to move the conversation along.

"Well, we're only friends. I'm new here so Blake is helping me to get caught up."

"Well, when you aren't busy, maybe you could come hang out with us sometime," Ruby piped up, excitedly.

"Of course. Blake's friends are my friends. Besides, I don't really have any friends here, anyway. Might as well start somewhere. I've gotta go. It was nice to finally meet all of you. See you later, Blake," I said, waving goodbye. As I walked away, I could still hear Yang teasing Blake about me, and I couldn't help but laugh.

Two weeks later, I was walking the halls of Beacon and saw Blake rush past me.

"Someone's in a hurry," I said loud enough for her to hear me, grinning.

"Oh hey. I kept that invitation. Hope it hasn't expired. You doing anything right now?"

"Actually, I was just about to come see if you maybe wanted to do something."

"How convenient. Just let me put some of my things away."

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Not at all."

We got back to her dorm, and I was helping her put some books away.

"Never seen you with this one before. 'Ninjas of Love.' You're… into this kind of thing?" I said. She yanked it out of my hand, hid it, and then punched me in the shoulder.

"Alright. Let's go," she said, hiding her embarrassment.

We walked to the cliff, and sat near the edge.

"Looks a lot smaller from up here, doesn't it?" I asked Blake, as she nodded in agreement. "Can we talk here for a bit?"

"Sure. About what?"

"You've been seeming really distant lately. What's going on?"

"You know my friends, right? They were getting a bit bothered at the fact that I've almost been spending more time with you, than them, and they didn't know why."

"Which is why you literally dragged me to meet them."

"Exactly. I wanted you all to meet so they started to understand."

"Makes sense. Well, if we're gonna train, might as well do it before it gets too late."

"Right," she said as we both stood up. I walked to the cliff's edge and looked over it.

"That is a long fall. Race you to the bottom," I said as I jumped over the cliff.

"No fair! You got a head start," she yelled behind me.

I landed first, but due to my negligence, I hit the ground way too hard, and Blake, being a cat Faunus, landed on her feet with no problem.

"You okay?" she asked with an outstretched hand.

"Yeah. What I get for being stupid," I said, grabbing her hand and pulling myself up.

"You never told me why you don't have a team," Blake pointed out as we walked deeper into the forest.

"It's a long story." I told her. "About 3 years ago, I discovered my aura. Whenever I become emotionally unstable, it triggers and really bad things can happen. I was at the orphanage where I basically grew up, and an older boy started bullying me and that's where it all started. I ended up throwing him through the ceiling, jumping through the hole I made, picking him up, and throwing him to the ground. As a result, I ran away, lived on the streets for about a year, and eventually came here to see if I could learn to control it, which seems to be working, but it flares up from time to time. Professor Ozpin somehow found out what I did, and thought it would be better if I didn't have a team."

"That sounds-" Blake suddenly stopped midsentence.

"Blake, is something wrong?"

"We aren't the only ones here," she said, calmly.

"Ursa!" I yelled. "Another one!" In a matter of seconds, what I counted as 4 Ursas emerged and surrounded us. We both drew our weapons, and prepared for the fight to come. After taking out one of them, 2 came after me and the remaining 1 went after Blake, and we somehow ended up standing back to back.

"They're tougher than they look. Get out of here. I'll find you after I'm finished with them," I told Blake.

"But there's two of them and only one of you, Oli-"

"Blake, I said go! I'm not arguing about this!"

"Fine." she said and ran deeper into the forest, the last Ursa not far behind.

I took out the Ursas that were attacking me and paused to catch my breath. My short rest was interrupted by a blood curdling scream that came from somewhere deep within the forest.

"BLAKE!" I yelled, and ran as fast as I could, deeper into the forest, only to have my fears confirmed. I reached a clearing and found a dead Ursa and Blake's Gambol Shroud unsheathed and on the ground, but nothing else. "No….no….NO! HOW COULD I LET THIS HAPPEN?" I screamed. Once I got a hold of myself, I picked up Blake's weapon, and ran as fast as I could back to Beacon, literally running into Yang.

"Ow you idiot. Watch where y-" she said, stopping after she noticed my panic. "Wait, you're Blake's friend. Where is she? Did something happen? Why do you have her sword?"

"I…. I don't know," I said, my voice breaking. "We were training in the Emerald Forest, we got separated, I heard her scream, tried to find her and this was all that was left," I said, holding out Gambol Shroud, and trying to get a grip on myself. "I'm going to go back and see if I can find anything. I need you to stay here and cover for me until I find something."

"With Ruby? You think it will work?"

"It's going to have to."

"Okay. Good luck."

"You too," I said, leaving.

After a while of walking through the forest, I began to feel as if I was being watched. Finding nothing after about 3 hours, I decided to head back. It would be dark soon anyway. When I got back, Yang met me there.

"I didn't find anything," I said to Yang. I sat on the ground and was overwhelmed by feelings of both sadness and guilt.

"It'll be alright. We'll find her," she told me, obviously trying to make me feel better, but failing in the process.

"How do you know? We have nothing to go off of. This is my fault. If I hadn't asked her to come with me, this never would have happened."

"It could have happened to anyone."

"You don't get it. Every single time I get close to someone, they just get taken away. It never fails. I just…. I need some time to figure something out. I think I need to be alone for a while."

"I understand," she said reassuringly and left.

A few days passed, and after classes I would go back to look for her, taking Gambol Shroud with me to somehow see if it would change anything. I tried to avoid conversation with the others, in case something about Blake came up. I hoped to find something soon because I knew the rest of Team RWBY would get suspicious if this kept up. On my 3rd day of searching, I got the feeling I was being watched again.

"I know somebody's here. If you are the same coward that took my friend and ran off, you might as well show your ugly face now."

"Wow. Petty insults. I expected more," a voice said. I put my hand on the handle of my sword, prepared to fight.

"Give me my friend back."

"Short and to the point. I like it. But I'm afraid that won't be possible," the voice said again. A tall figure walked out from between the trees, but stuck to the shadows. "Where are my manners? My name is… well you can just call me Warden. You see, I run the special prison that houses Faunus and White Fang members only. Your 'friend' matched the description of a White Fang member." Unfortunately, I knew exactly which prison he meant.

"_Former_ White Fang member. She has nothing to do with them anymore."

"So, you think because someone has 'changed' means they should just walk free, no matter what atrocities they committed?"

"Some of them." I could feel my aura charging, but I managed to control it just long enough for what I needed to do. "Enough of this. I at least want to be able to know she is alive. I will do whatever you ask. I'm begging you," I said, unhooking my sword and Gambol Shroud from my belt, throwing it to the side and kneeling to the ground.

"How romantic. Disgusting. Though I do suppose the two of you didn't get a proper goodbye. You get 2 minutes." Suddenly we were teleported to a strange place. What I saw appalled me and made me sick. Faunus, innocent and guilty, locked up and beaten like… well, animals. What I saw next was even worse. Blake. Stuck in a cage, weak, malnourished, and broken. Her signature bow was gone, and she was wearing ill-fitting clothing, like the rest of the prisoners. I walked over to it and grabbed the metal bars, as she weakly dragged herself over.

"Blake…. I'm so sorry…" I said, putting my hand between the bars to cup her cheek. "I don't have much time, but I just wanted to tell you-"

"Time's up!"

"I have to go, Blake. Don't worry… I'll be back. I promise. I lost my family, but I'm not losing you. Be strong." I said, trying to be strong myself. I walked away, but looked back one more time. I saw a look in her eyes that I had never seen before. One that said "Please don't go," as she weakly reached between the bars, not even having the strength to cry. Within seconds we were back in the forest.

"Happy? Your little friend is alive. And that's the last time you will ever see her,"

"I will find a way to get her back, do you hear me?"

"Good luck with that," he said, and vanished. I grabbed our weapons, and began running as fast as I could back to Beacon and was met by all of Team RWBY. Ruby was crying and Weiss was hugging her, and Yang looked as if she was going to cry as well, after seeing her sister. Something was very wrong.

"Yang…."

"I tried to keep it under control, but Ruby could tell I was hiding something so I had to tell them. I'm sorry."

"It isn't your fault. Was bound to happen eventually." I walked over to Ruby, and bent down to look her in the eye. "Ruby. Listen to me. I'm gonna get her back," I said, standing back up. "Alright.I need to talk to Ozpin. Now."

"Why?"

"Because I know where Blake is."

"What? How?"

"Because the one who took her was there."

"Well, let's go get her, then!"

"It won't be that easy," I told her, walking away.

2 hours later

"So you think we should mount a massive rescue effort on a highly protected prison, containing inmates who are Faunus and White Fang, which it was designed to hold, for one student. You're insane." Ozpin said sternly, looking over his glasses at me.

"No. I'm saying we should mount a rescue effort to let the innocent ones go free, and to get Blake back."

"The prisoners will all be marked the same. There won't be any way to discern guilty or innocent."

"Fine. I'll go by myself. If I die, so be it, but if I don't make it out, you will have the death of one of your students on your hands," I said, walking out and slamming the door.

2 days later

I was in my dorm, preparing to launch a one man assault on the Faunus prison, and I heard a knock on my door.

"Who is it?" I said.

"It's me. Ruby"

"Come in." Ruby came in and gave me a huge hug, beginning to cry.

"Please, bring her back. She was the first friend I made here," she said, sobbing.

"Don't worry. I'm bringing her back no matter what," I said, holding her.

After Ruby left, I finished getting ready, and I walked out the door only to be greeted by a mob of students, including members of Team JNPR and CRDL.

"We heard that you decided to go alone. We weren't gonna allow that for two reasons. One being, it's stupid to attack that place alone, and two, we can't let you have all the fun," Yang said, grinning, even under these circumstances.

A few hours later, we met just outside of where the prison guards couldn't see us, and waited for the right moment to charge. The prison was a massive, multileveled, gray, bat winged building, and with guards posted everywhere an escape attempt was possible. I gathered myself, and ordered the attack. After I did, the ensuing battle against the guards began. The fight was fierce, both inside and outside the prison. Here these students were, being just that. Faunus and human side by side, but they fought like full-fledged warriors, united for a common cause. After I was certain that the outside had been dealt with, I took the rest of Team RWBY inside the prison, where we were going to free our friend and teammate, and take out Warden, whatever happened first. We managed to take out a few of the guards inside, and as we walked through the now quiet halls of the prison, I noticed a look of despair on Weiss' face. She may have been a Schnee, but she still felt bad for these Faunus.

"I warned you, yet you didn't listen. Not sure if that's courage, or stupidity. I guess we'll find out," said a voice I instantly recognized as Warden. He jumped down to our level as we prepared to fight him. Since he had stuck to the shadows in our previous encounter, I couldn't tell what the face of my enemy was. He was an older man, pale and skinny. He was wearing a trench coat, but wielding no weapons that we could see.

"The three of you find Blake. I'll take care of him. We have some unfinished business." They ran off and the area around just Warden and I closed off with a barrier of energy that I created using my aura, still charged from the fight outside.

"So, how do you think this will end?" he asked

"Quickly and painfully. At least for one of us."

I lunged at him, but he managed to repel or evade every single attack I used and used the energy from them, and redirected it back at me. As the fight dragged on, and I fell under attack a few times myself, I felt myself becoming exhausted and weak, causing the barrier to flicker. He knocked me down, picked up my sword, and I prepared to meet my demise. 'I never thought my end would be met by my own weapon.' I thought, thinking it was my last.

"How unbearably pathetic. The fact that you thought you co-" He didn't even get to finish, as a round from Yang's Ember Celica came through the now almost nonexistent barrier, and hit him square between the shoulder blades, giving me both an opening, and a chance to end this fight once and for all. Using my aura to give myself a bit of an energy boost, I leapt out of the way, grabbed his coat, and threw him to the ground, injuring him but not killing him.

"This is for Blake," I said and knocked him out with the end of my sword handle. I lowered the barrier, and walked away from the unconscious Warden.

"I thought I said to find Blake."

"We did. We wanted to ask you what to do about the White Fang members," Yang said as we walked.

"Leave them for the authorities. They seem to have a regular Faunus wing, and a wing just for White Fang. Open the cell doors for the innocent and leave the rest. I'll get Blake." We went down separate hallways. After a few minutes, I reached Blake's cell, saw that she was in worse condition than before, and hoped I wasn't too late.

"Blake, it's me."

"O-Oliver?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna get you out of here," I said, not quite sure how well she could hear me. I cut through the bars, walked in and picked her up, helping her wrap her arms around my neck.

"W-what were you going to say before?" she said, using all the strength she had.

"I'll tell you when I get you out of here," I said, looking down at her, smiling. "Save your strength." She smiled and closed her eyes, burying her head into my chest. As I walked out of the prison carrying Blake, where Team RWBY and all the other students were waiting, now joined by Professor Ozpin, Glynda Goodwitch, and the newly freed Faunus, everyone went silent for a moment. After what felt like an eternity, they began cheering. Professor Ozpin slowly walked up to me.

"I don't know whether to suspend you, expel you, or congratulate you after a stunt like this. But since you got all these students to rally behind you for such a daunting task, I guess that makes you a hero. We also, somehow, lost no students. Congratulations, young man," he said.

1 hour later

When we got back to school, Blake was brought to the infirmary. After one agonizing hour of sitting outside of the room, pacing, and staring at the clock, one of the doctors came out and spoke to me.

"She's going to be just fine. With a few weeks of rest, she will have completely recovered. Luckily she somehow didn't have any broken bones, just a lot of bruising and malnutrition. She's a strong one."

"I know," I said, having to hold back from hugging the doctor. The rest of Team RWBY eventually met me in the hall.

"So?" Ruby asked, with a tone of both worry and of happiness.

"Doctor said she's gonna be fine. Just a few weeks of rest and she'll be back to the normal quiet, reserved Blake we know and love. They've moved her to a new room so she can rest, but I think I may stay with her for a while. See you guys in class," I said as I walked towards Blake's room.

2 weeks later

I visited her every day, her condition better every time I saw her. Then, one day, something amazing happened. Blake woke up.

"Blake?" I asked, as she slightly stirred.

"What… what happened? Where am I?" she said, still weak. I stood up and walked over to her bedside.

"Yang, go get the others," I said, looking at her. "I don't know how much you remember, but I brought you back, and freed the innocent Faunus. You would have been proud of me, I think," I said to Blake, as Yang left the room.

"Oh yeah. I remember. You left and promised you would come back. And you did," she said with a tear coming from her left eye, one that I wiped away. "How long have I been out?"

"Almost 2 weeks. Everyone's been really worried about you. Good news is, since the fight, the Faunus around here have been treated better."

"I'll believe that when I see it. You still haven't told me what you were going to say."

I leaned over her hospital bed and whispered in her ear.

"I love you, Blake."

"You know, if I had more energy, I think I would have gotten up and kissed you." She said as I stood back up.

"Oh I almost forgot. I kept this for when you woke up to see if it would help you feel better," I said, handing her Gambol Shroud, wrapped in a new black bow.

"I feel better already," she said, smiling and clutching it in one hand, and my hand in the other.

"You know, I can't help but feel like this is my fault. I asked you to come with me an-"

"Stop right there."

"What?"

"Yes, something bad happened. But it wasn't your fault. All that matters is that we're here now."

"Blake!" Ruby suddenly burst in to the room, and pushed me out of the way to hug Blake. Soon, Yang and an out of breath Wiess came in.

"So happy to see you're okay!" Yang said.

"Thanks guys. But I'm not the one that deserves the attention," Blake said, grabbing my hand. "You went through the equivalent of Hell, knowing you would probably die, just so you could save me. Nothing I will ever do will be enough to thank you for this."

A chorus of "Awws" rose from Ruby, Wiess, and Yang.

"Does this mean you guys are…?" Ruby asked. Blake looked at me, grabbed my collar, and pulled me down, into a long kiss.

"Since I couldn't stand up, that will have to do."

"What does that tell you?" Yang said, nudging Ruby with her elbow.

"Alright you guys. Blake needs her rest," I told them, nudging them out the door as a doctor came in. "Hurry up and get better," I said, smiling and waving goodbye, closing the door behind me.

After Blake recovered, everything went back to normal. Except for one little detail. The Faunus students around Beacon were actually being treating like equals for once, and it stayed that way. I even got made an honorary member of Team RWBY. All the time I spent with them, Blake especially, made me realize how lucky I really was. Lucky to have such good friends. Some days I look up in the sky and think "If you guys are somewhere up there watching me, I hope I've made you proud."


End file.
